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Months before the opening of Creatures of Lighton March 31, a team of preparators at the Museum began developing custom models of glowing organisms that light up the exhibition. Director of Exhibition Design Michael Meister and other members of the Exhibition Department share how they conduct visual research for these unique models, work with curators to make them scientifically accurate, and meet the various lighting challenges of creating an exhibition about bioluminescence.

Today’s re-release of James Cameron’s blockbuster film Titanic in 3D will feature just one altered shot: a corrected view of the stars in the early hours of April 15, 1912, the day the “unsinkable” British ocean liner went down in the Atlantic Ocean.

The adjustment was made in response to feedback that Cameron, who is known for his meticulous attention to detail, received from Hayden Planetarium Director Neil deGrasse Tyson, who noticed an inaccuracy in the film after it was first released in 1997.

The Museum’s latest exhibition, which lets visitors explore a series of ecosystems that sparkle with radiant creatures, is a uniquely immersive experience.

En route to the deep-sea homes of luminous fishes, visitors walk through a field of flashing fireflies, explore caves strung with jewel-like glowworms, and “wade” through a digital bioluminescent bay that glitters underneath each step. Overhead, a symphonic soundtrack composed by Tom Phillips helps set a distinct mood for each section, contributing to a magical setting in what Edward Rothstein of The New York Timescalled “a thoroughly engrossing exhibition.”

Chris Filardi is the director of Pacific Programs at the Museum’sCenter for Biodiversity and Conservation. He has spent his career studying island birds and their unique ecologies, from working with indigenous communities to conserve island ecosystems to tracking the foraging behavior of Palm Cockatoos. At the upcoming SciCafe on Wednesday, April 4, Filardi will talk about how the genomic revolution and increased access to islands have changed how these systems are studied. He recently answered a few questions about the role islands play in understanding speciation, or how new species arise.

Theoretical physicist Dr. S. James Gates, Jr. uses mathematics to understand string theory and superstring theory, candidates for a single, unified theory of the universe. In this talk from a recent SciCafe, Dr. Gates describes the basics of string theory and talks about the discovery of computer codes—like those used in web browsers—embedded in the equations of superstring theory.